Dealing With It
by Dark Northern Lights
Summary: Short, random thing about Sonic finally learning to deal with the loss of his parents all those years ago. I took some liberties with it, since I don't know much, but I think it turned out pretty well for my first short story! I own nothing!


**Author's note: Hi, everyone! I'm Dark Northern Lights (well, duh) and this is my first attempt at a one-shot. I'm trying to get better with endings, so constructive criticism is very welcome.**

**Sonic's thoughts are in bold; Sonic's conscience is in bold with quotation marks; Tails' thoughts are in italics**

* * *

Something was off about Sonic. Not many people noticed these things, for he covered his moods pretty well. A smile and a wink was all he needed to fool most of the world into thinking that he was always happy, all the time.

But Tails knew otherwise.

Sonic had been acting strange for days, and Tails had no idea why. Even if the near torrential rain they'd been having for the past week made it impossible for Sonic to run, it was abnormal for him to be acting so down. He seemed almost… depressed. Ever since the twin-tailed fox had met Sonic, he'd never known him to act like he was even _close_ to being sad, and yet…

Something was off about Sonic. And even though Tails noticed, he still felt helpless. He didn't understand why. Sonic hadn't told him, even though Sonic always told Tails about _everything_.

_Why not?_ Tails wondered, trying (and failing) to distract himself with new modifications to the Tornado.

* * *

**I wish I were out running today…** Sonic thought with a sigh. **But with all the rain outside, I have to stay inside, and that means I can't distract myself from it anymore…**

Sighing, the speedy blue hedgehog turned away from the rain-spattered window to watch Tails scurrying about in his workshop.

"**Tails is worried about you,"** said that irritating little voice in the back of his head that was better known as his conscience. **"You should tell him why you're so upset. He thinks you're mad at him or something!"**

"I'm not mad at him," Sonic muttered under his breath. "This day of the year just holds some bad memories, and the fact that it's raining just makes it worse…"

"**That's still no excuse. Tails doesn't know what's wrong; tell him!"**

"I don't want him to worry about me," he protested, but, even as the words left his mouth, he knew they were a weak argument.

His conscience knew it too. **"He's worried about you **_**now**_**, Sonic. Just tell him why you're so depressed, take him to see them!"**

"But…" Sonic sighed. There was no arguing with his conscience, and Tails _was_ worried about him. He could tell. He had this thing about twisting his tails together and fiddling with his machinery when he was anxious about something. Once, when Sonic contracted the flu, the little fox had taken the entire Tornado apart and then put it back together with more than a few changes. On the bright side, things always seemed to run smoother when Tails was done worrying…

**I know I can't run away from it forever, but I just don't want to deal with it yet!**

"**And what happens when you can't run anymore?"** his conscience pricked at him as he watched Tails fumble with a screwdriver.

"…All right, I'll tell him…" Sonic said, giving in.

"**Good boy…"**

* * *

"…Hey, Tails?" Sonic offered, his voice tentative. The fox looked up, relief written all over his boyish features.

_Yes! Sonic's talking to me again!_ Tails cheered mentally.

"Yeah, Sonic?" he asked aloud. Sonic cleared his throat and shuffled his feet. He seemed nervous about something. _Is he going to tell me what's wrong?_

"Look, kid," Sonic began, "I'm real sorry about how I've been acting for the past few days. I promise I'll explain, but first I need to show you something. Take a walk with me?" Tails nodded and almost skipped over to his surrogate big brother.

"Where to?"

* * *

"Green Hill Cemetery?" Tails asked. He was confused. He had expected some place like a chilidog stand, or maybe just an open meadow where Sonic liked to run. Cemeteries were creepy and full of dead people.

"Yeah," Sonic answered. He turned to Tails and gave him a piercing green stare. "Remember when we first met? How I told you I didn't have a home or folks?" Tails nodded. Sonic continued walking, and the fox followed him. "It was true. When Eggman first appeared in my hometown, everything was chaos. I mean, a flying fortress in the sky, that's not something you see every day, especially in Green Hill Zone!

"Well, I was about ten or eleven at the time, and my parents were pretty average hedgehogs. When the sirens went off, they told me to go and hide in the basement, that they would catch up when they had gotten a few pictures.

"I remembered that I'd left something over at a friend's house—and for the life of me, I can't remember what it was anymore—so I ran over to get it, and then I hurried right back." Sonic snorted in derision and stopped in front of a pair of headstones, side-by-side in the wet grass. "Actually, it was a good thing I had left, because I when I got home, there was nothing left: just a giant hole in the ground. Even the basement hadn't survived.

"I was furious. Both of my parents were gone, and I only knew of one person to blame. So I went and stopped him. I think I was feeling pretty numb at the time, or old Eggman might've…" The blue hedgehog drew a finger across his throat, earning a gasp from Tails.

"So, your parents are…?" the fox gestured toward the cemetery. Sonic nodded.

"That's where their graves are, anyway. Today is the anniversary of their deaths," he said, confirming the suspicion already in his adopted brother's head.

Tails didn't say anything. He didn't have to. He just slipped his gloved hand into Sonic's and pressed his own drenched fur against his adopted brother's.

Together, for the first time, they honored the deaths of the people who'd raised the hero of Mobius. Sonic gave a wry smirk as he felt the pain in his heart lessen, ever so slightly.

**Maybe I can learn to deal with it after all…**

* * *

**So, what did you guys think? I await your reviews with much enthusiasm!**


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